


Free

by stilesune



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Bisexuality, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, assumed one-sided attraction, handjobs, other characters are heavily mentioned but these three are the focus, past Harry Hook/Carlos de Vil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:40:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11721180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilesune/pseuds/stilesune
Summary: It started like most other things on the Isle start: in the shadows with hushed whispers and fear of being caught.Carlos wishes he knew then what he knows now.





	Free

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in so long but my muse has been coming back to me a lot lately. So, I start in a new fandom before returning to my main one! This is just a little headcanon I have. It'll switch between pre-Descendants 1, during Descendants 2, and then some type of post-Descendants 2 timeline. Any page break will move to the next aforementioned timeline.
> 
> Also, I operate under the assumption that fictional characters are bisexual unless canonically stated otherwise. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Please note: there is a non-explicit scene involving two (assumed) underaged boys (16-18) interacting in a sexual way. If you are underage or uncomfortable with that, please do not go forward with this.**

It starts like most other things on the Isle start: in the shadows with hushed whispers and fear of being caught.  
  
It’s a quick slip of a hand down the front of pants; a loose, unsure grip alternating between squeezing, pulling, and stroking while the other knows just the right combination to drive a person to the edge. They fumble in the dark for lips, missing by miles but still finding ways to elicit moans and gasps of pleasure. Confident, full ones are wet as they press and suck on a wide, unsure mouth.  
  
One is all inexperience and comes quickly to the feel of another’s hand on him for the first time. The other rides it a little longer, adjusting the boy’s grip to what he likes and fucking into the fist as best as their cramped spaces will allow.  
  
When they’re done, the older of the two giggles, sucking a bruise into the younger’s neck. He moans, rubbing himself against the front of the timid teen. Smearing their mess around on leather, almost like he’s marking. His mouth nips and licks and sends sharp zings of pleasure all through the younger’s body as reality comes back into focus.  
  
The mouth makes a loud pop in the small space they’ve made for themselves behind Hades’ Greek restaurant, detaching from the neck it’s been abusing. He can hear Hades’ daughter, Aria, cackling from the kitchen, the sound of other Isle residents stomping through the wet streets. But all he can think of is the throbbing spot on his neck as sharp teeth grin down at him. He definitely knows it’ll leave a bruise. He bruises so easily. The others make tease him for it, almost treat him like he’s fragile and needs protecting.  
  
The boy in front of him is the first person to use pressure and force with him aside from his mother. Where his mother aims to hurt, Harry Hook only aims to pleasure.  
  
(In hindsight, Carlos will wish he knew then what he knew a year later in Auradon.)

 

* * *

 

 

The thing about Auradon is where it’s warmth and bright and happy and acceptance… the Isle is cold and darkness and rage and rejection. But one thing the Isle has on Auradon is that boys liking boys or girls liking girls or them liking boys _and_ girls is okay. It’s not that it’s wrong in Auradon… it’s just that it’s never been done and Lonnie had been confused when he asked about it.    
  
So Carlos ignores that part of himself in Auradon. The part of him that looks at boys like Harry Hook and King Ben and Jay and wonders what it’d feel like to press his lips to theirs, to run his fingers through their hair, to holds hands with them. He ignores it and focuses on Jane. Lovely, pretty, normal Jane, who is a great friend to him, who he thinks he could grow to really and truly want to be with one day. He ignores it so well until they’re back on the Isle to get Mal back, to reunite the Rotten Core Four, when Harry slithers out of the shadows like the snake he is.  
  
Harry spares him a lingering glance at first, before focusing on Jay and Evie to deliver his threat. It takes Carlos back to when he apparently wore out his welcome with Harry, after only a mere month of sneaking around “because their friends wouldn’t understand”, according to Harry. He had gone to find Harry for some fun when he walked in on him having fun with Gil, instead. Harry had just giggled like he does, a little spacey and condescending mix, before asking Carlos if he wanted to join them. When Carlos left with tears in his eyes, he became the laughing stock among Uma and her crew as the boy who thought he could tame the swashbuckling Harry Hook.  
  
It was a hit to Carlos. More so than any physical blow his mother landed, more so than each time Jay told him of his conquests with the likes of Shan’s daughter, or Harry’s sister, or Freddie, or Ratcliffe’s daughter, or the Queen of Hearts’ twin daughters, or one of the other numerous _girls_ he fooled around with. _This_ was pure humiliation. He was already the smallest of the four, the weakest, the self-professed nerd… but Mal, Evie, and especially Jay, never made him feel that way. They never let anyone make him feel that way (aside from their parents, but they were powerless against them).  
  
But Harry made him feel that way. And Gil. And Uma.  
  
Jay had punched Harry’s lights out once he pulled the story out of Carlos, and Carlos can tell with one look at him that Jay wishes he was able to do that now. But Jay’s maneuvered himself in front of Evie—always the protector—and is focusing on that instead of escalating the situation. His fingers keep twitching a little like he wants to reach out and pull Carlos behind him too, but he knows better than to do that now. He knows Carlos would feel insulted, like he’s still a kid who needs someone else to fight his battles for him.  
  
When Harry’s gaze lingers on him for a moment too long after ordering them to have Mal go alone to Ursula’s, his heart thumps in his throat. He’s not that weak, 16 year old kid any longer, but Harry makes him feel like he is with just a little smirk. A smirk that says _I know something you don’t know_ and Carlos almost believes it when Harry deliberately looks at Jay next, still with the damn smirk.  
  
Harry’s practically goading Jay into punching him again. Carlos has never been a violent individual, but he really wants to be the one punching the pirate instead of letting Jay fight his battles, like usual.  
  
With one last threat, one last barking dig directly aimed at Carlos, and Harry saunters away whistling. As he watches Harry calmly walk down the alley, Carlos can’t help but wonder if the sloshing nausea in his stomach is what seasickness feels like.

  

 

 

Carlos feels a sense of peace, even as awareness returns to him and he can feel his back spasm from sleeping in the chair. Everything is uncomfortable, but if he turns his head just the slightest into the warmth next to him, he can imagine this in a less than platonic way to wake up every day. It’s not the first time he and Jay have slept close like this, it probably won’t be the last. But it’s getting harder and harder for Carlos to separate out his feelings when all he wants to do is breathe in the jasmine scent of Jay’s hair and curl into him more. He wants to snuggle deep into him without fear facilitating it.  
  
He gets to do that when he has nightmares and Jay will crawl into bed with him, wrapping his arms securely around him. He’ll hold him gently, telling him it’s over now, they’re far away from Cruella, from the Isle, from their scars. Carlos gets to return the favor when Jay has nightmares about not being able to save them from Maleficent, or that they never got off the Isle. He gets to wrap Jay in his arms and tell him that he saved them all, that they never have to go back to the Isle under their parents’ thumb ever again, that everything’s okay now. He gets to bask in the feeling of Jay turning in his arms and pulling him close, holding him tightly as he shivers against the fear. He gets to play savior for a little while. He gets to protect Jay for a change after Jay protects everyone else all the time.  
  
But that feeling doesn’t last long when the next morning there are noogies and “bro”s and flirting with girls and Carlos has to remember: that’ll never be more than fleeting moments of comfort between two boys bonded like brothers from their equally horrifying upbringing.  
  
Even though he wants it to be so much more.  
  
There’s a beeping from the 3D printer and he drags in a light snore as Jay comes to. He pretends to be asleep, just like he pretends with everything else in his life.

 

 

  
  
  
There’s a sword fight.  
  
An actual sword fight.  
  
It’s one of the most bizarre things he’s ever participated in on the Isle. And given who his and his friends’ parents are, that’s saying something. It’s almost… fun… if you take away the life and death situation and the fact that they could be held responsible for the death of Auradon’s king if this goes wrong… but yeah, other than that: almost fun. He enjoyed catapulting the first smoke bomb right at Harry’s feet.  
  
It was also fun laying Gil on his ass and saving Ben.  
  
It stopped being fun when he sees Harry pinning Jay down against the banister with a sword closing in on his neck.  
  
His heart jumps in his throat and he makes opens his mouth to call out—for Harry to throw him off balance, for Jay, _something_ —when Gil kicks him in the stomach and knocks the wind out of him. He has to draw his sword up to miss a blow coming towards him, spins out of the way and elbows Gil in the back of the head. With the momentary reprieve, he looks up to see Jay taunting Harry with his hook.  
  
Knowing Jay’s okay, he gets back to the fight at hand and quickly dispatches of Gil while Mal fights Uma behind him, and Ben and Evie protect each other on one of the gangways. Everything kicks into high gear after that, like the swelling of a song as it nears its end. With Gil taken care of, and Mal getting away from Uma who’s briefly distracted by pulling Harry from the water, Carlos sees Jay running up. It takes a split second to know he needs to get Jay out of harms way to keep a level head, so he tells him to go start the limo for their escape.  
  
Once he sees him disappear into the tunnel, he focuses on finishing the battle and getting the rest of his family out of there. He’ll examine everything else later. In that moment, he’s fighting off one of the crew members from following Jay and Lonnie, Mal and Uma are fighting again, and Harry’s going after Ben.  
  
After Evie throws the smoke bomb, he can just make out Harry through the smoke as it settles towards the ground. He has a split second to pull a move from Harry’s book: he throws a wink and sarcastic kiss in his direction, like he did at Jay and Mal when threatening Ben. The scowl that crosses his face is worth it.  
  
Once he’s out of the tunnel and sees Jay standing at the driver’s side of the limo, he feels like he can breathe for the first time since they got back on the island. They’re about to leave—without having to have seen their parents, thankfully—and hopefully never have to return to their parents, or Uma, or Harry, or any other piece of their past best left locked inside the barrier.  
  
Too bad he can’t leave his feelings for Jay there, too.

 

* * *

  
  
_We’ve gotta be bold, we’ve gotta be brave, we’ve gotta be free._  
  
The lyrics keep cycling around in his head, even after he’s taken off all his wet clothes and mostly dried his hair.  
  
Staring out at the Isle from the boat and realizing how far he’s come in the past year… something shifted within Carlos. So much has changed about not just where he is, but _who_ he is. He’s bold. He’s brave. He just needs to be free.  
  
Fear encompassed most of his life. Whether it was fear of his mother, Maleficent, Jafar, and the Evil Queen, or of Harry Hook and his power over Carlos, or dragons, or dogs, or new lands, or judgment, or losing his made family… it was just all _fear_. Fear of life and living. So, he immersed himself in technology and science experiments. He tried to forget that his mother loves her furs more than him, that he had to get through a labyrinth of bear traps just to get to his thin mattress shoved in the corner of her dressing room. He tried to forget Beezlebub, his kitten that Cruella made him abandon on the streets or she’d cook it for stew. He tried to forget being her slave. And Evie tried to help by giving him a pillow. Mal tried to help by drawing him a happier life. Jay tried to help with trinkets that would bring a proud smile to his face every time he pulled one out for Carlos. And seeing Jay happy made him feel very happy.  
  
Boy, did he want to make Jay happy.  
  
But that wasn’t an option. It never would be.  
  
“Hey!” Jay snaps his fingers in front of Carlos’s face. Carlos hums at him questioningly, still caught in his thoughts. “I’ve been asking you the same question for the past minute.” He laughs, “What’s up, man?”  
  
Carlos stares for a minute. He’s shirtless, but has on Auradon Prep sweatpants. His hair is still in its bun, loose pieces frizzing slightly as it air dries. He looks perfect. “I need to be free.”  
  
Jay looks confused, “We are. We never have to go back to the Isle if we don’t want to and no one can come here from there. Not our parents, not Uma, not Harry Hook.” He spits the name like its sour in his mouth.  
  
“Jay,” Carlos stands from his bed, determined to do this. To be bold. Be brave. Be free. He can’t say what he really wants to say. He cannot, under any circumstances, tell Jay that… holy crap… that he’s in love with him. The realization, which he seems to have been working towards for _two years_ almost floors him. But he gathers himself up quickly. “I think… I’m going to ask out Kori.”  
  
Jay’s face blanks out for a second, before he asks, “What?”  
  
“Korak. Tarzan and Jane’s son. He’s on the Tourney team…”  
  
“Yeah,” Jay cuts him off harshly. “I know who he is. I just…” He seems to be struggling for words, “I thought after Harry, you didn’t want to be with anymore guys.”  
  
“Oh. No. Harry happened and then I needed time to get over it, then we came here and here is…different.” Carlos shrugs, “No one really knows what being bi means here.”  
  
Jay scoffs, “So you think asking out a guy when they don’t really know that’s an option here is a good idea?” Jay shakes his head and turns to plop on his bed. His weight bounces for a moment before he settles in a sitting position on the edge, staring up at Carlos.  
  
“Kori was around when I asked Lonnie about it. They were curious. They weren’t disgusted or thought it was wrong or anything, Jay. They’re just taught here that it’s kings and queens not kings and kings, evil is evil, all that. If it doesn’t work out? I’ll have tried at least. It’s not like Ben will send me back to the Isle over it or anything.” Carlos takes a step closer to Jay, staring into his eyes brimming with concern. “Jane’s sweet. I like her. But I’ve always liked boys more than girls. I can’t keep pretending forever. Don’t ask me to.”  
  
Jay’s eyes widen, “I wouldn’t.”  
  
“Not on purpose. But your instinct is to protect us. You’re our guardian.” He wants so desperately to reach out and cup Jay’s jaw, to stroke his cheek with a thumb, but he can’t. “I… we love you for that.” His heart beats wildly at the near slip, “But eventually you have to let us make our own mistakes. Not every situation will be another Harry. Especially not here.”  
  
“Chad’s pretty close.” Jay attempts to joke to lighten the situation, but his lackluster tone makes it fall flat.  
  
“Never in a million years would he and I ever happen.” Carlos chuckles, “I want to be bold and brave and free. I couldn’t be that way on the Isle. Especially not free. I need to do that here. I need to be myself. Not Cruella’s son. Not one of the villain kids. I need to just be Carlos. And Carlos likes boys and girls, but sometimes boys more than girls.” There’s silence for a solid minute, so Carlos figures the conversation is done. Jay doesn’t seem happy, but he also doesn’t seem like he’s going to fight Carlos’s decision on this, either. Carlos smiles down at the back of Jay’s head, who is fascinated with his lap and hasn’t looked up since he spoke last, and moves to leave. He doesn’t get far before Jay’s hand grabs his, gently tugging him so he looks back.  
  
Jay looks up at him. His mouth is set in a grim frown and his fingers slowly pull out of Carlos’s hand, almost like a caress. “Promise me that you’ll let me know if you need me? If anything goes wrong?”  
  
“I’ll always need you, Jay. You’re my best friend.” Carlos smiles even though the words are breaking his own heart. And as he turns, resolute in his plan to move on from Jay, so their friendship and found family can remain in tact, he doesn’t see the heartbreak written on Jay’s own face.

**Author's Note:**

> Depending on my availability this week, there will most likely be a companion piece in Jay's POV as well as a sequel that brings these dumbos together.


End file.
